dotCommonweal

'American torture'--or, the Rorschach interview.

Brian Ross's long, fascinating interview with the former CIA agent John Kiriakou contains a wealth of information, including that all the "enhanced interrogation" techniques used by Kiriakou's team were approved by higher-ups--even waterboarding, which Kiriakou correctly calls torture. (The full transcript is available in two parts, here and here.) I'll have more to say about this later, but in the meantime, read Andrew Sullivan's excellent postshereandhere.

Update: You can read the Chicago Tribune's story on Kiriakouright here. Shocker:

"All interrogations have been done within the legal framework that was set out after Sept. 11," White House press secretary Dana Perino said. "They have been measures that are tough and limited, and they have been very effective."

Comments

Remember that both torture and abortion have been defined as instrinsically evil in the US political context by the USCCB. We should realize that, from a moral standpoint, the proximity of Bush and Cheney to the evil of torture is far closer than the equivalent proximity of you average Democrat to the evil of abortion. For it to match, the latter would need to drive a woman to an abortion clinic, pay for it, and make sure she goes through with it. Just something to keep in mind.